The Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group works to help people whose rights have been violated and investigates cases involving such abuse, as well as assessing the overall human rights situation in Ukraine. The Group also seeks to develop awareness of human rights issues through public events and its various publications

Criminal investigation over events at Berdyansk colony

The Zaporizhya Regional Prosecutor’s Office reports that it has initiated a criminal investigation over the use of unlawful force against a prisoner in the Berdyansk Corrective Colony No. 77. The investigation is against staff of the colony under Article 365 § 2 and 172 § 1 of the Criminal Code – exceeding official powers and infringement of labour legislation.

The check followed reports in the media of a hunger strike by some prisoners of the colony. The Penitentiary Service claims that they did not officially announce a hunger strike, just refused to eat breakfast. Their protest appears to have been over the temperature in the colony and ill-treatment.

Information is scant, but according to Reporter UA, the Deputy Prosecutor, Andriy Kudryavtsev told reporters that one prisoner has made an official statement alleging that he was beaten and hung up, that an examination had found injuries.

He also said that they had established that the prisoners had been forced to work in minus degree temperatures.

The above is a highly abridged version of one article apparently from http://reporter.zp.ua/ while the report on the official Prosecutor’s Office website in the Zaporizhya region is considerably less detailed